Noob with 4g4d swap questions

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jookycola

Junior Member
hey everybody, i'm taking a crack at honda tuning. but i have some questions about some of the things i want to do to my 4th gen sedan.

i obviously want to perform a swap since the 1.5 in it now is on the tippy toes of it's last leg. i was just going to transplant the another 1.5 from another LX, but decided it's a honda and they're known to be great cars to do "better" engine swaps. i'm digging the b18c5, my friend has one he swaped in his 91 CRX hf and that thing is sinfully fast. but i'm concerned that i believe that motor runs on premium 91 octane gas.....at $3.00 a gallon for just 86 octane, i'm not sure thats the best idea. but i love that motor. oddly he says if he could do it again he would have rather put in the b16 si motor instead, because you can do more with it. and still have as good of performance as the b18c5

So my other option is the 170hp jdm civic type r motor b16-something...(did i mention i'm new) or the usdm b16 civic si motor. although not as fast as the b18, i'm sure it's still a fun motor....yes? no? they are alot better priced and i'm betting they run on regular gas.

i guess my main question is, which motor is the best to sawp in and what type of recomended fuels do either one run. the way gas prices are it will determine what motor is worth it to me. i just want a fun project that i can have fun tossing around on weekends so i'm not looking to become the next ihra champ.

any help would be greatly appreciated, and i look forward to spending more time here.
 
It all really depends out what you have to spend. I would suggest either a b16a1, ls or lsv, or sohc/dohc zc. If you do like your friend did(which is kinda a waste of money IMO) then you will have to be pretty damn good at wiring it up or know someone who is. But really man just search, there is a sticky on this site that tells you the reccomended swaps for the gen of car you have. I just thought id be the first to tell you to search seeing as how you will be hearing it alot lol.

Anywayz, good luck with whatever you decide to do and tell us how it goes.

Welcome to teh swap B)
 
i did do a pretty decent search, and saw the swap guide. the site really does have great content. and from what i've read on here and all over the internet over the last few weeks is that the b16 is the over all best swap, both $$$wise and just eaziest swap into my car.

my friend thinks the b18c5 was a huge waste of money too, hence why he wished he went with the b16 instead. but neither of us could deny that motor in that car is amazing. but seriously heavy. does the b16a1 run on 86 octane?

and as for future "use the search" replies.....what can i say it sucks being a newbie. i've seen it and done it a million times on my last car's site "j-body.org" but i've had the opportunity of never being a newb on there since i was a part of that site since it first started in 1998. so now i get to experience the torment of being the "stupid newb"
LOL

but i plan to spend some time this weekend doing some heavy reading on this site. just the b18 or b16 debate i've been having in my head all this past week is making me crazy, i just needed some answers to better figure out what i want. thanks for your reply man.
 
You can tune the B16 to run on 86 octane gas, but it wasn't built to run on gas with a rating that low. It's happiest on 91 or higher octane. If you're willing to spend the money on a Civic Type-R swap, I assume that you'll have the resources for a full custom tune through Hondata, Uberdata or something similar. With a custom tune, you could get your new engine to run on whatever grade of gasoline you want (within reason) and still tune it for max power and good gas mileage.

If you want to still have tons of fun without breaking the bank, still get good gas mileage and still run on regular gas, I'd recommend getting a DOHC ZC engine. They're a little old (generally from the same generation as your 4th gen), but with a minor rebuild (new rings, bearings, seals)- they can be reliable for 200k miles easy. You'll be about 20hp down from the B16 but still have pretty much the same amount of torque, and you can bolt it right in with just a few minor wiring changes and a non-OBD ECU that can control 4 injectors. A pretty good number of people get above 30mpg in the city with DOHC ZC swaps, and even more on the highway.

The B16 is a killer swap for the 4G too, but the B18C5 is by no means a waste of money...
 
Hey Calesta, thanks for the reply, i'm a former houston texan. live for 5 years on westhiemer and Guessner (sp?) and worked over by the galleria. awesome town.

i love that b18c5 too but it's twice as expensive as everything else i'm looking at and from what i'm hearing it's a waste in respect that the b16's are cheaper and easier to come by, and can be hopped up to be just as fast as the c5 only lighter. if money was no object i'd still do that c5. but if i can do a b16 swap and spend just a little less than i would've for that c5 and still have that jaw dropping acceleration...i'd gladly go b16.

but as a newb, i doubt half the info "people" i know (read:armchair tuners) is 100% correct. my friend Carlos with the CRX hf is the only guys word i somewhat trust...but all he did was swap in the motor, he did none of the actual tuning and really just went with the biggest and fastest engine he could easily swap in there, with no research.

so now i'm left wondering, could i do that jdm civic type-r motor in my car? i like it's numbers alot and i've seen that all it really needs is the obd 1 to obd 2 wiring adapter i've seen for sale on at least 2 websites. and integra shift linkage. doesn't sound too bad or rough....but it never does, just reading it. it's a different ballgame once your actually shoehorning that sucker in the car.
 
Cool. I grew up in Houston, then spent a few years there after I graduated from college. The house I grew up in was right off of Westheimer and Dairy Ashford- not too far from Gessner. I'm in Lufkin now though... I guess I need to update my profile.

On weight- all the B series engines are really pretty close. They might be 20-30 pounds different from each other (if that), so it's really not an issue you should be worried about when deciding between a B16A and a B18C5. The ITR engine is quite a bit more expensive than the B16A, but you're right- you can buy a B16A and get the same power out of it as the B18C5 without spending as much as you did on the B18C5.

The CTR engine (B16B) is a nice block- but it's really the same as the ITR engine (B18C5) except with a shorter stroke. The power levels are similar, but the CTR likes to rev higher and makes a bit less torque down low. It's also more expensive. The installation will be the same- you'll have to rewire your car for everything that you would need to convert to for the ITR engine, you'll have to use the same mounts, and you'll have to use the same shift linkage.

The B16A engine is most likely the best value B series swap for your car. It will fit in without needing to cut the webbing under your hood, give you a good amount of power, and you can get a non-OBD changeover for less than $2000. A B18A would be good too- no VTEC and 20hp less, but you would get quite a bit more torque. Both would drop in with minor wiring changes since the OBD versions between your car and the engines would match.
 
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